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Are you one of those people who, like me, adores change? Welcome to the fold of fellow weirdos! While many of you reading this might truly abhor change, I’ve always seen it as an opportunity to improve and grow forward. Now, does that mean I like it when my favorite neighborhood ice cream shop shuts down? Of course not! The change I’m talking about is more about evolution, when things or people can adapt and transform into a new entity which better fits into the world. A change is here, folks. Really Social for 2016 To kick off 2016 and beyond, we’ve transformed what was Rachel, Really Social into a new and (we think) more inclusive, encompassing brand which promotes our vision for every single one of you to be really social and really good at it. Henceforth, you can find and know us as Really Social. And we hope […]

Join the Blab bandwagon and bypass the rookie phase. You may have joined or sat in on a Blab, but have you set up your Blab? Just as with any other platform (especially those which are, like Blab, in beta mode), there are some ins and outs you should know before you take the plunge. In true Rachel-fashion, I learn best by doing and learned the following tips to share with you. Make Your Blab Title Short and Sweet Just as with any content title, your Blab’s name should immediately clue in the reader to the topic. However, brevity matters even more with Blab since the name becomes the path of your Blab’s URL (website address). For instance, if you name your Blab, “Julie’s Review of The Force Awakens from Opening Night,” the link to your Blab will end with something like this: /julie-smith-julie-s-review-of-the-force-awakens-from-opening-night. Blab will use your first and […]

2016 Digital Marketing is coming… What’s in store for the digital marketing landscape in 2016? Each year seems to bring a myriad of new tools and tactics to be navigated by the digital marketer (and really anyone who intends to use digital at all). Join Rachel and Terra on Blab in what is sure to be a lively discussion and debate about what we can expect from our next Leap Year as we leap forward digitally! (You can also watch the discussion below, but we sure would love to see your comments in the live Blab!) Want a seat in our next Blab? Click here.

Nine out of 10 millennials I meet either aren’t on LinkedIn or aren’t on LinkedIn (they’re on but they don’t use it). Aren’t millennials all about social media? Not so much. If they are, they’re looking to be approached. Based on Social Media Week’s post on marketing to millennials, youngsters dig brands and want to see authenticity. Why not LinkedIn? For those of us who frequent LinkedIn, we can vouch for the marketing which takes place in the News Feed, Groups, Company Pages, Showcase Pages, and so on. The big miss for millennials is not realizing the networking power of LinkedIn to land their next gig. Said gig would then fund the same millennials with wages for which they could be free to succumb to marketing. And so the circle of life continues… Why Millennials Need LinkedIn Your dorm buddy can’t hire you – yet. Once you leave your campus with your […]

Today the world woke up to a big change on Twitter: to “favorite” a tweet, there was a heart where a star used to be. The change comes shortly after Facebook announced the addition of alternate reactions to the normalized “Like” (incidentally what the new Twitter heart signifies, leaving “favorite” in our Internet past). What does it all mean? Probably nothing. Maybe. Here are a couple of theories to take or leave: The Internet is full of meanies. If you spend any time online, you see how bold or brazen fellow human beings can be while securely seated behind a keyboard. Spewing hate or words of derision is far easier when the face-to-face is out of the equation. In many ways, the rise of live video streaming feels like an answer to this lack of humanity. When we can see a face to put with the handle, we make a better connection and […]

As you crawl out from whatever rock you’ve been under the last few days, you’ve probably heard that Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook is working on a “Dislike” button. Don’t Dislike It Yet… Let’s slow our collective roll and examine what was actually revealed. Mark conveyed what many (ok, millions) of Facebook users have expressed: “I wish there was a different button than Like for this post.” Because let’s face it: not every post should be liked. Not every post is about puppies and rainbows. As Facebook users take to their keyboards to share opinions, experiences, or the latest news, their posts may evoke a different spectrum of emotions like sadness, outrage, shock, or even grammar grimacing. (Yes, that’s a real thing.) We’ve all had those moments of sheer frustration where a post strikes us to our core—if only there was a perfectly appropriate way to respond with a quick […]

Back to school this year made me achieve this level of restraint. What got me to this point? With my oldest getting “silent lunch” with the dean on the 4th day of school, then my education at Back to School Night on how the same child had tried to snow me all week about a procedure with his planner, and finally having to muscle the same child through his homework during breakfast because he had forgotten his math book—which I retrieved for him at that Back to School Night… let’s just say I was DONE. How is your back to school parenting going? Commiserate.

Back away from the keyboard. Slowly. With everyone communicating online, human beings can tend to lose our civility while hammering out our feelings on a laptop. When you’re on the receiving end of passionate words, and particularly if you know how to use words with a vengeance, your first reaction may be to construct your own masterpiece of vitriol to lob back across the digital space. Don’t go there. Even if you don’t perform customer service via the typed word, taking the high road while engaging online is the absolute best practice all day, every day. Even if it means leaving the laptop or departing from your desk for a few minutes to grab a milkshake or some chocolate, maintaining a digital rep that is calm, cool, and collected is completely worth the wait. (And now you know my secret keys to peace.) 3 Ways to Respond Stick to the […]

Day 3 and we said goodbye to London, yet the prospect of finally getting to the land of my people in Scotland had me antsy in my train seat. Onward and upward! What I Saw All the things. First off, Kings Cross, and yes—I was absolutely thinking of the scene from the Deathly Hallows. Fortunately, I’m not the only one. I wonder what it must feel like as an author to know you thought up an idea that was then brought to life at a major travel thoroughfare in one of the world’s most popular cities. What I Ate Not enough, apparently. As we walked up and down the full length of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, we scoped out just about every pub and dining establishment along the way but didn’t stop until I had a certifiable Snickers-diva moment. Thankfully my husband darted us into a Turkish café where […]

Day Two of our We’re 40! adventure in the UK was our only full day in London on this particular trip. It went by far too quickly! What I Saw For lunch, my husband had arranged for us to eat at a pub about 10 minutes from our hotel. In what became our trademark style, we made about two wrong turns before arriving at the Anglesea Arms. We chose a patio seat for our lunch, from where we could enjoy the mild weather and street views. A placard on the stone patio wall directed us to the residence across the street. Apparently Charles Dickens resided at No. 11! What I Ate I realized with this post I need to follow the ways of the foodie and take more pictures of meals, if for no other reason than to prove I’m not relying solely upon liquor to sustain me through my […]